I saw a cj2a with a ford flathead V8 online a couple years ago. I was so intrigued by this I saved the pic of the engine bay. Now that I am older and know my way around the jeep and hot rod world a little better, I want to do this. I've got a decent early '45 jeep cj2a all stock and good running with a mildly beat down body. I also have a running '40 ford flathead V8 sitting that I sometimes start and rev up for kicks. I want to put this motor in the jeep. A flatty in a flatty. My period correct tastes has carried over to my 4x4s. My question is will the '40 V8 bolt up to the T90 trans? Wondering b/c ford also made jeeps for the war (the GPW). They used their own 4 cyl engines bolted to the T90. Some one please help my figure this out.
No bolt-up to an MB or GPW...Ford made the GPW to Willys specs, with only minor changes where Ford had a better manufacturing capability, Bell and trans are the same as Willys...on this vehicle, Ford was simply an extra contractor adding to Willys' inadequate production capacity. Now, the Ford designed jeep that was procured only in small numbers before the Willys design became the standard, the Ford GP (NOT GPW!) had the N tractor engine that had same basic bell pattern as Flathead. Those are very scarce vehicles.
Judging by the crank pulley, that is a '40 flatty. There are a few adapters to put the flathead behind in front of the T90. Offy made two - one a bellhousing style that works with the early 59A style (what you'd need) & another that could use an 8BA bellhousing. If you're starting from scratch, make sure you get a T90 from a 4-speed as they have the required longer input shaft than the later Hurricane 6 T90. I'm going to do this with a Willys Wagon... I believe the Offy number you need is 5825
It seems like a natural...Chevys fit there, so a flathead will. Look for a four-speed truck trans with separate casting for the bell housing part, used roughly 1940-1952...that part will bolt up to an early flathead and give you a surface to adapt. There must also be a commercially available stackup, like a flathead to chevy adapted or fitted with a second adaptor... I once worked on a V8-60 powered Henry J that used an adaptor based on the cutoff front of a Ford p***enger trans. I suspect that the perfect swap engine for this thing would be a Chevy II four cylinder.
Ford jeeps were basically Willys (inter-changeable parts) Only difference being FORD and F's stamped on almost every part. They (ford) only made them from 42-45.
You might talk to rocnroll on the msn group flathead forum - he's got a flathead V8 in a jeep. http://groups.msn.com/FordFlathead1932to1953/general.msnw
I have thought this would be a cool setup myself. The Ford Flatty is pretty much perfect for this. My thought was set it up for a late ford 4 spd ******, ie...NP435, with a NP203/205 doubler T-case. 6.67 1st with a ~3.96 low in the T-case plus a conservative 3.08 Dana 44 axle set gives a 81.3:1 crawl ratio. Which would pretty much crawl through or around anything. Remove the doubler ratio and you'ld still be at a 42:1 crawl ratio.
Now remember yall, I want to retain the 4wheel drive. So I would need to be able to use a trans transfer case combo. I have several parts in the pile to work with. I have a Chevy 4sp with I think a np205 from a CJ-7 with a 350 Chevy set up. I also have a th350, 2 dana 20s and a '80 CJ 4cyl trans dana 300 combo. I would like to do some narrow track disc brake axles off a '79 CJ so the off set dana 25 rear is of no concern.
I was also thinking of an s10 T-5 with the NP231 transfer case. Another concern is the length of the drive train itself. This beast only has an 80 inch wheel base.
If you're going to replace the entire engine/trans/transfer case, I think you're going to be slightly limited by the right-hand drop for the front axle... Get an Offy 5825 and bolt in the flatty to your T90/D18.
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